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✨💅
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wip i love sketching ino tbh she's so pretty
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write down me who to draw next from Naruto <3
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Spitting Image #1
(Ino Yamanaka)
[Art work is not mine! Credit to creamway]
Requested by: Myself
Word Count: 4,211
Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:
None romantic one-shot; more friendly one-shot vibes; also sorry it’s not as Ino centered as I planned it to be
Child out of wedlock (how sinful; says the smut writer) (Yoshiki is the name I chose for said child)
Kouhai means underclassmen for those that don't know
Part Two?
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"Shit, shit, shit," I mumble under my breath, rushing through the front door of the Yamanaka flower shop. I'm ten minutes late for the third time this week, a promised blowup from Ino waiting for me at the counter.
"Where is that dumb kouhai at?" Ino's voice rings out over the sound of the bell on the front door.
"Right here! I'm here! I'm sorry!" I rush out, struggling to tie the strings of my apron. "I'm sorry I'm late again, Yamanaka-San!" I mutter, bowing my head down, eyes set on our shoes as I wait for my verbal lashing.
"Kouhai," Ino hisses out, tone cold and eyes hot as she glares down at me. "I pay you to work from eight-thirty to four, not eight-forty to four."
"I know, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"You said that yesterday, and the day before that. How is it any different this time?"
"I'm really sorry, Yamanaka-San," I repeat, my tone a whisper this time.
"I will deal with you later. Your lateness won't be the reason for my lateness," Ino mutters, walking away from me, taking her anger bubble with her.
I stay in my bow until I hear the bell ring again and the shop door slam closed. "Damn it," I mumble, rubbing my eyes as I stand up straight again.
"Why have you been late so much this week?" A voice calls out, startling me.
A yap slips from me because of the sound, making me jump back and spill over a tub of flowers. "You have to be kidding me," I whisper to myself, blinking the angry tears from my eyes as the sound of the bucket crashing to the ground rings in my ears.
"I asked you a question, it's impolite not to answer," The monotone voice calls again.
I shift toward the sound, Yamanaka-san's husband falling into my sight. He reminds me of a tuxedo cat; ghostly pale, always in black, and seemingly hating everyone that's not Ino or their son. "I am sorry Yamanaka-San. I didn't mean to ignore your question. What was it again?"
My boss's husband - my other boss, I suppose - tilts his head a bit as he looks at me, a micro-scrunch of his nose appearing too. "Why have you been late so much this week?" He repeats, making my cheeks warm up in embarrassment.
"Family issues," I mumble, dropping to the floor to pick up the flowers I tipped over.
"What might those issues be?" Sai asks, kneeling on the ground as well, helping me plop the flowers back into their bucket.
"I don't think it's appropriate for you to pry into my personal life, Yamanaka-San. I am sorry for being late, it won't happen again. Now, please leave me alone," I husk out, anger coating my words and my eyes again. I tug the bucket away from him, turning my full attention to the mess I've made.
"Have I upset you?"
"No. Just... go away Yamanaka-San," I grumble, rotating the bucket away from the water still covering the floor.
"As you wish, Kouhai," Sai responds, smiling softly at me before he follows his wife's previous path.
The anger of my morning continues to brew as I clean up the spilled water. It's been six months since I gave birth to my son, Yoshiki. It's been difficult trying to find balance in my life since having him. I love him more than anything in this world, but without a support system, it leaves me feeling like I'm drowning.
Between his needs, my needs, bills, daycare, and work I feel like any moment one of the plates I'm holding is going to fall and break. The plate being my job at the moment. I'm lucky to have three thousand yen left at the end of the month, courtesy of the outrageous daycare bills. I need to find a cheaper daycare or one that opens earlier so I can make it to work on time. I can't afford to lose my job.
How the hell am I going to get and maintain another job if Yoshiki isn't in daycare? How am I going to afford daycare if I don't have a job? How am I going to afford our bills? Our rent? Yoshiki's formula and diapers and the million other things he needs? Why couldn't I just get out of the house on time this morning? Or yesterday morning? Or the morning before that?
My stress tears mix with the flower water I'm cleaning off the floor, only upsetting my spiral thinking even more. Maybe I'll get lucky and Ino will only tear into me again when she gets back instead of firing me. I can't afford to lose this job.
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My heart feels like it's pounding against my rib cage as I listen to the nursery worker on the other end of the phone. "I'm sorry ma'am but he has a fever. There's no way we can keep him at the nursery."
"I'll come get him soon but I can't just leave work. You guys can't keep him a couple more hours?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
I twirl the phone cord around my finger, heated tears threatening to spill again today as I listen to the nursery worker explain once again why they can't keep him. "I can give you an hour to pick him up, but that's all we can offer. We can't risk any of the other children getting sick. I'm really sorry, ma'am."
"Alright, okay. I'll be there soon. Thank you," I mutter into the phone, the angry tears spilling down my cheeks. I slam the phone down, picking it up to repeat the action a few times.
Why can't one thing go right? Why can't I catch one break? What am I going to do? I can't ask to leave early after being late most of the week. That'll definitely get me fired. Ino is going to tear into me if I ask to leave early, she's going to fire me. I can't afford to lose my job, but I can't leave my baby at the nursery. I can't leave Yoshiki feeling ill and yearning for me.
"Do you mind not breaking the phone?" Ino's voice rings out, filling my chest with dread.
"I'm sorry, Yamanaka-San," I mutter, softly setting the phone down before using my fingertips to brush the tears off my cheeks.
"It seems that you're saying that a lot today."
"I know," I murmur, turning toward her, eyes cast to the ground as I work myself up to ask my question. "Yamanaka-San?" She hums in acknowledgment, arms crossed and foot tapping the ground. "I'm really sorry but I have to leave early today."
"Oh? Oh ya? You show up late all week, yell at my husband, take a personal call at work, and then attempt to destroy the store phone, but you need to leave early today."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm dealing with some things at home and I'm sorry it's melting into work but - "
"You want to leave early? Fine, leave early, but if you leave don't bother coming back. You're unreliable," Ino husks out, glare pointed my way.
"Yamanaka-San, please. I really need this job - "
"Not enough to work your full shift, apparently. I already told you, you're done, fired, unemployed. I can't have an employee that constantly shows up late and dares to ask to leave early."
I open my mouth to fight back but I have nothing to say. I get where Ino is coming from, after all, she's running a business and that can't happen with an unreliable employee, with me coming and going unpredictably.
I let out a defeated sigh, untying my apron and laying it on the counter before I walk out of the shop. The ringing of the bell dances around my brain, forcing fresh tears to brew. A million things, mostly bills and money issues, run through my head as I start my path toward Yoshiki's nursery.
I don't have time to worry about money or bills or a job. My baby is sick and needs me. Yoshiki needs to be my main focus right now. I can worry about finding a new job once my baby is at home and his fever is gone. My son needs to be okay and healthy before I have time to worry about anything else.
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I let out a sigh as I watch my Kouhai walk out the door. Maybe I was a little harsh, we all have bad weeks, and I just made hers worse by firing her. But, on the other hand, I can't keep paying someone who can't keep their life together well enough to get to work on time.
     The front door jingles again. I snap my mouth open, preparing to deny the Kouhai's pleas for her job back.
     "Oh, hey Ino!" Kohan's - one of the members of the Konoha Barrier Team and a civilian of my clan - voice rings out, making my mouth snap closed. "Where's your Kouhai at?"
"Why do you care?" I snap out, glaring at him as the scent of infidelity waves my way, only solidifying my decision to fire her. I don't need drama filtering into my flower shop. "Don't you have a pregnant wife at home?"
Kohan chuckles at my questioning, only pissing me off more. "Yes, I do. Your Kouhai's son sat up by himself for the first time. She said she'd show me pictures next time I stopped in, so I was just curious if she was working today. I swear your cashier has the cutest kid in the world."
"What?" I ask, the word 'son' standing out in the explanation I just got.
"Your Kouhai has a cute kid?" Kohan repeats slower this time, his face scrunching up as he looks at me. "I think she said he's five months old, maybe six. She's got this picture of him in a duck onesie in her wallet, and it's the cutest thing in the world. She said the wife and I could have the outfit if we want since her son grew out of it already."
"My cashier doesn't have a kid," I say, a laugh following my words. What kind of sick joke does Kouhai and Kohan have going on? "She... she doesn't have a baby at home. I would have known that."
"I promise you she does. I don't know much about her home life aside from her son, but it sounds like the dad is MIA."
"What about her parents? Her mom is around to help with the baby right? Or her dad? A sibling or something?"
Kohan shakes his head no, sucking his cheek in to nibble on it for a second. "No, it's just the baby and her. She was raised by a single parent but from what I've picked up, they were one of the casualties of the war."
I let out another laugh, this one a panicked laugh. I just fired a young single mother for being late to a couple of shifts, and for needing to leave early without even asking why she needed to leave. I am a terrible person.
"Anyway, I'll stop in some other time. Let your Kouhai know I stopped by."
"Will do," I mumble, watching Kohan walk back out of the shop. Once the bell rings closed, I dash towards the phone, scrolling through the phone log. In big letters 'Konoha Nursery' is written on the call log. I fired a single mother because for some reason she had to pick her kid up early from daycare.
I. Am. A. Terrible. Person.
"Sai!" I yell, rushing around the store in search of my husband. "Sai, I'm going out, can you watch the store?! Oh, and please remember to pick Inojin from school!"
"Where are you going?" My husband asks, poking out from a random hidey-hole he's been in.
"I need to talk to Sakura about something."
"Oh, okay. I'll see you later, Dear."
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It's been two days since I had to pull Yoshiki out of daycare early. His fever has gone down a bit, but he's still warmer than he should be. My sweet boy is curled up on my chest. He's in nothing but his diaper and I've decided to lay with him on my chest, nothing but my bra covering my torso. Hopes that skin-to-skin will help his fever race through my head as I cuddle with him.
     If it doesn't I'm out of options. I'll have to take him to the hospital, not that I can afford it, but I don't know how else to help Yoshiki feel better. The only saving grace right now is that he fell asleep far enough up my chest that I can hear his breathing without having to press my ear to his chest. "I swear, God," I mutter, focusing on the ceiling. "If you take my baby, I'll never forgive you."
     I know it's an overreaction, I know it's just a fever and will probably go down soon, but I can't help but worry that it might be more. Reading all those baby books during my pregnancy has left me with the fear that any and everything will kill my Yoshiki.
It took draining all my savings to finally convince myself to go back to work. It terrifies me to leave him with strangers for so long every day. What if something happens and I'm not there to protect him?
A knock at the door cuts off my spiral thoughts before they have a chance to start, both making me grateful and sorrowful. The sound wakes Yoshiki, sending him into a meltdown from his still-present fever and from being woken up.
I gently hush him, patting him back as I crawl out of my bed. "You're okay, love. I know, I know," I coo, softly rocking us back and forth as I weave my way through our destroyed apartment. I haven't had time to clean up so stuff has been thrown around on any surface available.
"You're okay, I promise. It's okay, Yoshiki," I continue to coddle, rocking us as I stop patting his back. My hand is gone from him long enough to open the door before it's back in place, softly rubbing his boiling skin. "Hello, how can I help you?" I ask, aiming my voice toward the open door without fully paying attention to who it is.
My focus is set on Yoshiki, trying to calm him as I start my mental checklist for the hospital. I've decided I'm going to take him once the telemarketer is dealt with.
"I thought Kohan was kidding," the person says, tugging my attention to them. Standing in the doorway is my old boss. Ino's mouth is hanging open a bit, her exposed eye wide and jumping between Yoshiki and me. "That is a baby. You have a baby. How do you have a baby?"
I blink at the lady in front of me, not a hundred percent sure what to think at the moment. "Ino, you have an eleven-year-old at home. I'm pretty confident you know how a baby is made."
"Yes, I know how a baby is made. I'm asking how you have a baby."
"Two hundred yen margaritas and a moody Sand Shinobi in the village on a business trip."
Yoshiki is the spitting image of his father. A fluff of deep red hair and his father's pale opal-colored eyes. I swear the only thing my son got from me was eyebrows and the shape of his nose.
A bundle of blue stripes covers a part of my son's forehead too, almost like stretch marks, another trait he got from his father. I've asked his doctors about it and they've told me not to worry, that it's just a mark of a jinchuriki parent, nothing different than the Hokage's and his kids' whisker marks.
That's another thing that has me stressing. What's a jinchuriki? How's it going to affect Yoshiki's life? It can't be that bad of a thing if our Hokage is one... right?
Ino busts out laughter, sending Yoshiki into another crying fit. "I'm sorry, it's really not funny," She says as I try to calm my son down again. "It's really... it’s not funny, just how you said it... it's not funny, I'm sorry," She says between bundles of giggles.
"It's kind of funny," I mumble, walking away from the door, leaving it open for Ino to decide what to do. I can hear her shuffle into my apartment, closing the door behind her as I pull an ice pack out of the freezer. "Is there a reason you're here?" I ask, trying to shuffle Yoshiki enough to wrap the ice pack in a cloth.
"I wanted to talk to you about... earlier this week," Ino mumbles, making her way through the maze of random toys and clothes covering the floor. "Here, let me hold him while you do that," She adds, reaching her arms out for my son.
I'm reluctant for a moment, hesitant to let anyone besides myself and Yoshiki's daycare nurse hold him. After a beat I give in, carefully shifting him into Ino's arms. I'll take him the moment I'm done wrapping his ice pack.
"Dear lord," She mumbles, nestling Yoshiki into her arms. He screams, reminding me his lungs are working. "Your baby is the spitting image of Gaara. How'd you manage to get that man in bed?"
"Gaara?" I ask, my hands stalling for a second.
"Gaara is the dad... right? I mean... your son looks exactly like him."
"I don't know the name of Yoshiki's dad," I whisper, finishing the task at hand before testing the pack against my skin. "Like I said, it was a one-night stand," I mutter, quickly taking my son back. I situate him back into place, holding him against my chest as I rest the wrapped ice pack on his back.
Ino stares at me, blinking a couple of times as she struggles with her words. "I would be able to recognize him, obviously," I mumble, shifting Yoshiki a bit. "After all, my son got all his traits from his father. I spent nine months making him and he has the audacity to look exactly like his father," I tease a bit, trying to lighten the mood.
     She laughs again, a calmer giggle this time. "I feel that. I swear Inojin looks like his father more than he looks like me." I hum in agreement, constantly moving the pack across Yoshiki to hopefully help bring his temperature down. "Anyway, I'm pretty confident Gaara is the father of your kid. Even if he's not, your son has junchuriki marks, it wouldn't be that hard to find his dad."
     "It wouldn't?" I mumble, focusing on switching Yoshiki around to cover his chest and stomach with the cooling device.
     "No, there's only a handful of them. It's not a common thing."
     "Great," I mutter, letting out a sigh as new worries filter through my head.
“It’s not… all bad,” Ino mumbles, glancing around the room before she settles on me again. “Gaara is… he’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s a great uncle to Shikadai. That and he has - ”
“There’s a big difference between being an uncle and being a dad.”
“Ya, I know,” she mumbles softly before she smiles at me. “For now let’s talk about you coming back to work and figuring out a way to make things easier for you. We can worry about the Gaara thing later.”
————————————
It’s been a couple of weeks since my conversation with Ino. I feel silly for not talking to her sooner. A new normal has settled over us, Yoshiki staying with me at the flower shop when the daycare is closed so I can work more hours, a later starting time so I don’t have to worry about being late, and the Yamanakas helping me with my son.
Ino watched him yesterday afternoon so I could go out for the first time in seven months. Do you know how nice that was? Getting some me time for the first time in half a year? I even get to sit down and eat now without having to worry about jumping up at Yoshiki’s every cry. Inojin is trying to talk me into letting him keep Yoshiki overnight one of these weeks. He’s grown attached to my little guy.
He also insists that my son ‘looks just like Uncle Gaara’ and that he ‘has the same eyes as Aunt Temari and Shikadai’. All this talk about the Gaara guy has my nerves a bit on edge. It scares me, thinking that someone so close yet so far away can demand to see my child, to have a say in my child’s life. I didn’t purposely leave my son’s father in the dark, I just figured I’d never find him again so why waste my time looking?
I will say, despite all the fear that comes with the possibilities of this Gaara person, Ino’s friend - Shika-something - Shikadai’s dad, had some tricks on getting Yoshiki’s fever down. He also said it’s normal for children of Sand Village descent to have fevers because of the usually hot temperatures in the Hidden Sand and their DNA morphing over time to counteract it. It is normal, it is just Yoshiki’s body adjusting, and soon enough he’ll be able to regulate his body temperature on his own.
Besides, there’s no guarantee that this Gaara guy is my baby’s father, and even if he is, who says he wants anything to do with us? That thought both feels good and hurts. I’ve done it all on my own, all nine months of the pregnancy, the childbirth, all seven months of Yoshiki’s life. If Gaara wants nothing to do with us, it won’t be that big of a deal. However, my son having his father while growing up is a nice thought to have too.
The bell at the front of the shop rings, a “Hello! Welcome in!” tugs from me as my eyes stay set on Inojin and Yoshiki.
“Hey, Ino,” a squeaky preteen voice calls out, instantly making Inojin chirp up.
“Sup, Shik,” he calls back, carefully standing up with Yoshiki in tow. The boys share some kind of new-gen handshake, my mind clicking the new boy into place as Shikadai. He’s the spitting image of his father too.
The two boys talk for a couple of minutes, Shikadai’s eyes constantly flipping between Yoshiki and me. Inojin was right, he does have the same eyes as my son. That doesn’t help my panicked thoughts. “What are you doing here anyway? You hate the flower shop,” Inojin asks, perking my interest a bit.
“My uncles are in town and Uncle Kuro already managed to piss off his wife, so he’s dragging Shinki and me along to help pick out flowers.”
“No shit? Shinki came this time too?”
“Inojin!” I snap out, giving him a warning glare. “No pouty mouth around Yoshiki.”
“Oh, right! My bad Kuohai!”
Shikadai’s eyes jump between my son and me again, a weird look on his face for a split second. “What’s with the baby?” He tries to whisper, eyes still running a mile a minute.
“Oh, Yoshiki? He’s the son of the girl that’s been working for my mom. He’s a chill dude, for being a baby and all. He looks a lot like your uncle.”
“Who looks a lot like me?” A deep voice calls out, overpowering the sound of the bell ringing. Standing in the door frame is a man with a black hood pulled over his head and dark purple markings across his face and neck. “Dear lord, who did Gaara knock up?” He asks, making panic spark in my chest.
“Okay, that’s enough Inojin,” I rush out, making quick steps around the counter and towards the group forming by the door. “I would like my baby back now,” I continue to panic, carefully swiping Yoshiki from Inojin’s arms.
“Hey! You said I could hang out with him during your shift!” Ino’s son complains, trying to swipe Yoshiki back from me.
“You can hang out with him later,” I mumble, slipping into the bathroom, quickly closing and locking the door behind me. So much for the new normal.
I sink to the tiled floor of the bathroom. Yoshiki is having the time of his life, smiling and babbling to himself as he looks up at me. “What are we going to do, Love?” I ask him, lifting him to press his tiny forehead against my own. “Why do you have to look so much like your daddy, huh? Do you think this Gaara guy is Dad? You think so?” I coo, pressing kisses to his cheeks, which only encourages his giggles.
A soft knock is pressed on the door, making Yoshiki smile even more. For whatever reason, his new interest is the sound of knocking. He seems to enjoy it quite a bit. “Hey, Kouhai?” Ino calls out, her voice followed by another knock. “We should probably talk.”
Probably.
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This was supposed to be the ‘Natalie’ piece but I got a better idea midway and I couldn’t quit ✨
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And I thought you were the best thing that ever happened to me - Talk 2 Me
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